Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #419

Background

Not much background here, except that every one's favorite original-and-best
Spider-Man, Peter Parker, is back in the webs. A month has passed since the
death of Ben Reilly and the assumed death of little May Parker, and it seems
like Peter and MJ have all but forgotten their losses.

Well, this issue has Peter Parker tagging along with Ben Urich (without Ben
knowing it) as he meets with one of his informants for info on the Rose's latest
illegal activities. Turns out that the Rose is going to buy $1,000,000 worth of
emeralds from some character called the Black Tarantula. Peter stops off quickly
at home and learns that Mary Jane is considering going back to school. Could it
be that young Parker is finally going to get his science degree, like Aunt May
and Uncle Ben always wanted for him? Let's hope so.

Next stop, the shipyards, where Delilah is on her way to meet the Black
Tarantula to swap green stones for green papers. Tarantula double crosses the
Rose, though, and Spider-Man has to break up the ensuing tussle with his
inimitable style. As the dust settles, Tarantula is captured, but Delilah has
escaped to annoy us yet another day.

General Comments

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, but I think I'm getting used to
Steve Skroce's art style. Make no mistake, I think his rendition of Anna Watson
is atrocious, and most normal people look like they just stumbled into my comic
from the Sunday funnies. Yet, I like Skroce's Spidey, and the inking is
terrific. After reading "Revelations" and the lead up to it, the comic seemed a
little insignificant (bring back Mysterio!), but the story was entertaining
nonetheless. All in all, a fairly decent comic.